Prosecutors: Pair conspired to distribute designer drugs

A drug overdose death investigation in Wisconsin led to the arrests of two people in New Jersey.

Federal prosecutors say that Brian Parker, 34, and Victoria Koleski, 29, were arrested in Farmingdale Tuesday. Officials say that the pair conspired to distribute dangerous designer drugs, including a synthetic opioid that authorities say is several times more potent than morphine.

Parker, of Long Island City, New York, allegedly made and distributed the drugs through two online companies he controlled. The substances he allegedly sold were linked to a May 2016 overdose death in Madison, Wisconsin.

Prosecutors say that mailing slips tied the synthetic opioid back to New York and New Jersey. Investigators say that this led them to the suspects.

Authorities say Koleski was among those who helped Parker distribute the drugs.

Parker and Koleski were expected to appear before a federal judge Tuesday afternoon to face the charges. It wasn't known if they have retained attorneys.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., left, and Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, right, listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with members of the House Ways and Means committee in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Se